While the monuments constructed to mark the burial place of a loved one are often designed to last many years, sooner or later they will slowly start to decline and decay. When this occurs, it can be very upsetting for the family members who are left behind. If the grave marker of someone you love has seen better days, you may want to consider having it restored. Below is a guide to some top tips which will help you to restore your loved one's grave.

Make sure the restoration is legal

Before you contact a cemetery restoration company, you should first check that you have the legal right to carry out any work. To do this, you should carefully examine the deeds you hold to the burial plot. If you cannot find the deeds, you should contact the cemetery so they can offer you further advice and help.

Arrange to have the old stone assessed

Depending on the extent of the damage, it may be possible to restore a headstone which has decayed. However, the only person who will be able to make this judgement is a professional contractor. Before you do anything else, you should contact a professional contractor so they can assess if the headstone should be repaired or replaced.

Consider what you desire

Before you begin, you should consider what your desired outcome is. Do you want the existing headstone to be saved and restored, or would you prefer to have an entirely new headstone made? If you opt for a new headstone, do you want the headstone to be a copy of the original grave marker, or would you like to opt for a different design? Thinking carefully about what you want before you contact a professional cemetery restoration company will make the entire process much easier.

Put together plans and photographs

Regardless of whether you have decided to restore an old headstone or to design a new one, you will need to give the contractors who will be completing the work as much information as possible. The best way to do this is to gather together as many photographs and plans as you can, which can be used by the contractor to visualise how the final product should look.

If you would like to find out more about the restoration of graves and burial sites, you should contact a local company which specialises in this area today.